Sindhu advances to second round; Sen, Prannoy bow out of Indonesia Open

Jakarta: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu battled her way into the second round of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament but it was curtains for Lakshya Sen, who went down fighting against world number two Shi Yu Qi of China, here Tuesday.

Sindhu overcame long-time rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 22-20, 21-23, 21-15 in an absorbing one-hour and 19-minute clash in the women's singles.

"It is important to get that first win because that definitely gives me confidence and also the boost to go to the next round. I have been losing in the first rounds (of late) so it was very much useful and important for me to winning matches like these," said Sindhu after her match.

Sen, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, battled valiantly before falling 11-21 22-20 15-21 to his formidable Chinese rival in a gripping first round men's singles contest that lasted 65 minutes.

Shi had entered the event as world number one but dropped a rung in fresh rankings issued on Tuesday, soon after his contest.

The 23-year-old Sen, returning from a back injury that had ruled him out of last week's tournament in Malaysia, showed remarkable resilience. Trailing 11-17 in the second game, he mounted a spirited comeback, saving a match point and clinching the game 22-20 to force a decider.

However, the momentum proved short-lived as Shi grabbed control in the third game to seal the match.

HS Prannoy also bowed out from the USD 1,450,000 tournament. The 2023 World Championships bronze medallist lost 17-21, 18-21 to Indonesia's Alwi Farhan.

Sindhu vs Okuhara -- Both Sindhu had Okuhara, former world champions, have struggled in recent times. While Sindhu's best performance this season was a quarterfinal finish at the India Open in January, Okuhara hasn't made it past the second round in six events.

The two stars added another chapter to their storied rivalry, engaging in a war of attrition in an error-marred match that had plenty of game points and match points.

Sindhu edged a tense first game 22-20, saving a game point and producing attacking shots at clutch moments.

In the second game, Sindhu held a slender two-point lead early on but trailed 7-11 at the mid-game interval. She clawed her way back, earning two match points with a thunderous cross-court smash.

"It is always good to play with her, obviously it is not easy but at the same time I would have finished it off in two sets but I should have been a little more cautious because I had two match points. At the same time, mid-court smash and when I got it high I just played safer," Sindhu said.

But unforced errors continued to creep in, allowing Okuhara to level at 20-20. The Japanese eventually took the second game 23-21.

"Nerves are always there, I need to play safe or I need to get points but I think that was in my mind until the third game. My coach was saying it is okay just let go but I think until four points I was having that in my mind but then I was like you know I need to let go." The decider followed a familiar pattern of conservative play, with neither of the two taking undue risks.

Sindhu led 11-9 at the break and then unleashed a series of winners to surge to 20-12. The Indian star earned eight match points and sealed the win by converting the fifth to book her spot in the round of 16.

The win helped Sindhu improve her head-to-head to 11-9 against Okuhara, who had defeated the Indian in the 2017 World Championships.

Sindhu acknowledged that the game has changed a lot in the last few years.

"If you see now the women's circuit it is more of like you know those long rallies, less of attack and defense have become very strong like at that point of time it was like we were attacking mostly and then you know it was all like a faster speed game," she said. She also noticed improvement in her game but admitted that fitness is still a work in prorgess.

"After the India Open, it has been a bit of a struggle. It has been a rough patch the last couple of games but I can see there is a bit of improvement like the last tournament. You need to keep trying patiently so that you get that rhythm.

"I am happy but I need to definitely improve a lot more and be injury free and of course focus on my skill." Sindhu was the lone Indian women's singles player to advance to the next round, where she will take on sixth seed Pornpawee Chochiwong of Thailand.

Malvika Bansod retired mid-way through her women's singles match against Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia. The Indian was leading 21-16 16-15 before she slipped on the court and clutched her knee in pain before retiring.

Anupama Upadhyaya went down in straight games 15-21, 9-21 to Korea's Kim Ga Eun while Rakshitha Ramraj too lost her opener 21-14, 15-21, 12-21 to Thailand's Supanida.